Dillenia megalantha (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Dillenia megalantha Merr.

Family: Dilleniaceae

Vernacular names

• Philippines: katmon-bayani (Tagalog), katmon (Bikol, Bisaya).

Distribution

Endemic in the Philippines.

Uses

The fruit is edible, with acid taste and suitable for preserves.

Observations

• Tree, up to 20-40 m tall, trunk up to 40 cm diameter.
• Leaves oblong, 25-70 cm × 8-25 cm, petioles winged, flowers yellow, about 10 cm in diameter.
• Fruit berry-like, indehiscent, globose, 5-7.5 cm diameter, carpels enclosed by the fleshy sepals; ripe carpels 25 mm × 11 mm, 1-seeded.
• Seeds obovoid, 6 mm × 4 mm, with membranaceous aril.

In primary forests, up to 1000 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines.

• van Steenis, C.G.G.J. et al. (Editors), 1950-. Flora Malesiana. Series 1. Vol. 1, 4-10. Centre for Research and Development in Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, and Rijksherbarium, Leiden, the Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen